Loss of efficiency/productivity might not be the product of burnout. It might be the cause. People get addicted to the dopamine hits of getting things done and

Loss of efficiency/productivity might not be the product of burnout. It might be the cause. People get addicted to the dopamine hits of getting things done and when they hit a wall, enter a vicious cycle of depressive withdrawal. Recovering from burnout by taking a break is simply resetting that dopamine addiction. Just a personal theory. If you work in a high paced environment with competent colleagues, management and tooling, you can just keep rolling with the punches and never hit the wall.